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Dentons is pleased to announce that the Firm has been ranked in 99 categories in the 2018 edition of The Legal 500 UK, and a total of 226 Dentons lawyers have been recognised across their respective practice areas.

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Dentons is pleased to celebrate the first anniversary of the Firm's combination with Maclay Murray & Spens, creating a UK footprint of six offices: three in England (London, Milton Keynes and Watford) and three in Scotland (Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen).

Ken DhaliwalPartner

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Experience

Recognition

Insights

Activities and Affiliations

Areas of focus

Education

Admissions and qualifications

Languages

Ken Dhaliwal is a Partner in Dentons’ Toronto office; he joined the firm in 2014 from another Canadian law firm and has been practicing entertainment law for over 20 years. Ken focuses on the areas of media, entertainment and intellectual property law. Ken’s national and international film, television and on-line clients are involved in a wide range of activities from financing to production and distribution. Ken acts for independent producers, Canadian and foreign broadcasters, major Hollywood studios, online providers, television and film distributors, banks, private equity as well as creators and artists.

In assisting his clients achieve their transactional goals, Ken brings his extensive industry experience, balanced approach and goal-oriented focus. He frequently advises them on the areas of Canadian tax incentives, which he combines with international incentives, treaty co-productions and co-ventures, and structuring productions to maximize the benefits of these programmes. His experience also extends to working directly and extensively with Canadian guilds and governmental and private agencies on behalf of his Canadian and foreign clients.

Ken has been peer-rated as “most frequently recommended” in the annual Canadian Legal Lexpert® Directory annual survey and is consistently recognized in the Lexpert®/American Lawyer Guide to the leading 500 lawyers in Canada and as one of Canada's leading entertainment lawyers in Best Lawyers in Canada. In 2014, Ken was awarded the Lexpert®"Zenith" award in recognition for his career accomplishments. In 2015, Ken was awarded a Crystal Mentorship award from Women in Film and Television-Toronto.

Experience

A comprehensive list of Ken's representative experience can be found here.

Recognition

Recognized in The Lexpert/American Lawyer Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada (2010, 2013 and 2015–2019) in the area of Entertainment Law

Recognized in The Legal 500 Canada in the area of Media and Entertainment as a “Leading Lawyer” (2018, 2019)

Recognized in The Best Lawyers in Canada as one of Canada’s leading lawyers in Entertainment Law (2008–2019)

Recognized in the Lexpert Special Edition – Canada’s Leading US/Canada Cross-Border Lawyers in the areas of IP and Media (2018)

Recognized in The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory as one of Canada's leading lawyers in the area of Entertainment Law (2010–2018)

Named "Lawyer of the Year" by Best Lawyers for Entertainment Law, Toronto (2017)

Recognized by Who’s Who Legal as a leading lawyer in the area of Sports and Entertainment: Entertainment (2017)

Recognized by Expert Guides in the area of Technology, Media and Telecommunications: Media (2014, 2017)

Recognized by Who’s Who Legal Canada as a leading lawyer in the area of Sports & Entertainment (2014–2017)

Recognized by The Legal 500 Canada in the area of Technology, Media and Telecoms (2015)

Received the Women in Film & Television - Toronto 2015 Crystal Mentorship Award

In the Media

Insights

“Recent Changes in Independent Production and Interim Financing of Film and Television Productions in Canada”, 2005 Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada, Entertainment Law Section/Recent Developments of Importance, Lexpert/American Lawyer

"International Treaty Co-Productions With Canada: An Overview For Producers", co-authored with Bob Tarantino in May, 2005

"Crisis in Canadian Production: A Modest Proposal or Two", Paper co-authored with Norman Bacal, and presented at the Law Society of Upper Canada’s Entertainment, Advertising and Media Law Symposium (April 2005, Toronto)

“Soft Money - Hard Costs: Recent Changes in Independent Production and Interim Financing of Film and Television Productions in Canada”, in the 2004 Guide to the Leading 500 Lawyers in Canada, Entertainment Law Section/Recent Developments of Importance

Activities and Affiliations

American Bar Association

Canadian Bar Association

The Law Society of Upper Canada (Ontario)

Community Involvement and Pro Bono

Ken was a founding director of Toronto's ReelWorld Film Festival, and has sat on the board of The Factory Theatre in Toronto.

He is presently on the Toronto Film Board, Television and Digital Media and selected industry group, which advises Toronto city council on matters of importance to the screen industries.

Producers Lab, Toronto International Film Festival: presented on the topic of legal and practical considerations of using various Canadian sources with international treaty co-productions, Toronto, September 2015

Shanghai International Film Festival: presented at the offices of 大成 on the topic of international treaty co-productions with Canada, and a special focus on the Canada-China treaty, Shanghai, June 2015

Panama International Film Festival 2015: co-presented a panel focusing on treaty co-productions with Canada

Certificate in Entertainment Law, Osgoode Hall: presented an overview of the Canadian film industry, Toronto, February, 2015

Rio International Film Festival / RioMarket 2014; participated in presentations relating to International Treaty Co-Productions

Producers Lab, Toronto International Film Festival: presented on the topic of Canadian financing options such as tax credits and soft monies with international treaty co-productions, Toronto, September 2014

Certificate in Entertainment Law, Osgoode Hall: presented an overview of the Canadian film industry, Toronto, February, 2014

Rio International Film Festival / RioMarket 2013; participated as a moderator for a case study of film “Mama”, which was a Canada-Spain treaty co-production, October, 2013 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Producers Lab, Toronto International Film Festival: presented on the topic of Canadian film financing options available to treaty co-productions, Toronto, September 2013

Certificate in Entertainment Law, Osgoode Hall: presented an overview of the Canadian film industry, Toronto, February, 2013

International Treaty Co-Productions with Canada: An Overview for Producers, Heenan Blaikie, November 2012

Rio International Film Festival / RioMarket 2012; Participated as a panelist for the session on the topic of “Business Opportunities Between Canada and Latin America in the Audiovisual Market” discussing a wide range of topics including the Canadian legal framework, Canadian incentives and the existing frameworks of production in Canada, on October 3, 2012 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Comparison of Canadian Content, Co-Ventures and Treaty Co-Productions, Heenan Blaikie, June 2012

International Co-Production Summit in Berlin organized by Unverzagt Von Have; Participated as a panelist speaking about the current status of the available subsidiaries, rebates and other incentive programs in Canada for foreign and domestic productions in Berlin, Germany on February 13, 2012

Networking Seminars / Film Production & Finance Summit in New York; Moderator on Update on U.S. and Canadian Tax Incentives discussing U.S. State and Canadian tax incentives, credits and rebates, including how such incentives are typically administered and financed, on October 24, 2011
Networking Seminars / Film Finance Summit in New York (April 26, 2010); Moderator on the topic of

International Financing for Film & Television Productions – an insider’s look at an international financing and the various players from a film discussing the advantage and disadvantages in filming in various countries as well as accessing funds, grants, treaties, tax credits and shelters available globally.

Film/TV Production & Finance Summit in Los Angeles; Spoke on U.S.-Canadian Co-Ventures and the opportunities and challenges that exist when a production is relying on soft money sources from different jurisdictions, on March 23/24, 2009.

Film/TV Production & Finance Summit; Moderator on the topic of “Accessing Incentives in Multiple Jurisdictions” using the film Outlander as the case study, Los Angeles, CA, April 10-11, 2008

Film/TV Production & Finance Summit; Moderator on the topic of “Case Study & Overview of Multi-Jurisdictional Financing” using the film Eastern Promises as the case study, New York, NY, October 22-23, 2007

2005 Atlantic Film Festival (September 2005, Halifax, Nova Scotia): Strategic Partners - participated in a panel presentation exploring soft money opportunities such as tax credits, loan supports, subsidies, service discounts, international co-productions to the best advantage and how to make foreign instruments fit the Canadian paradigm

National Screen Institute (August 2005, Toronto): Presentation on Treaty Co-Productions with Royal Bank of Canada

Canada-India: Moving Forward on Opportunities in the Plastics Sector (June 2005, Toronto) Presentation sponsored by Economic Development Canada on the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights in India

Telefilm Canada Media Entrepreneur Incubator (May 2005, Toronto): Chaired a panel and presentation to select group of Canadian producers on the topic of Co-Productions and International Partnerships and the benefits and drawbacks of these types of relationships

Atlas International Film and Television Finance Summit (March 2005, New York, NY): Presented a case-study of the Canada-UK-Hungary treaty co-production of Being Julia

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